Hart '“ Linesman apologised to me for switching off
The 31-year-old, who made 348 appearances for the Citizens in all competitions, was given a warm welcome on his return but the experience was soured by the result.
The former England international, who vented his frustration by striking the upright when Leroy Sane netted the home side’s fifth, said: “There is a feeling of frustration in my chest right now.
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Hide Ad“The crowd reaction was nice but I came here as a Burnley player, it was far from a perfect day.”
Hart, who had a pitch named in his honour at the £200m Etihad Campus, also found it difficult to digest the admission of officials post match after City had netted a controversial second.
A catalogue of errors from referee Jonathan Moss and his team allowed Bernardo Silva to convert David Silva’s cross.
Fernandinho scored City’s third soon after, turning a slender scoreline in to an unassailable lead for Pep Guardiola’s side.
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Hide AdReplays suggested that Spaniard Silva was in an offside position when assisting Bernardo while the ball had already travelled out of play.
“The linesman apologised for switching off, but that’s huge, it’s hard to take,” said Hart.
“I appreciate the human side but he apologised so he must be pretty clear it went out.”